Paddy vs Goliath

ome of the more observant GG readers will have noticed already but, it’s getting pretty darn crowded around here.

Which might explain the long lines of traffic every morning, afternoon and evening.

And the distinct lack of school places. And buses. And trains. And bicycle paths. And footpaths.

And then there’s the telling queues to use the swings down at the South Beach Playground. And the queues just about everywhere else you go.

With An Bord Pleanála surprising everyone bar perhaps the developers themselves by giving Drumakilla Ltd the thumbs up for a staggering 230 houses right in the middle of Delgany village, and Cairn Homes planning to use the same Fine Gael-created, Fianna Fáil-backed Strategic Housing Development planning application (a fast-track for estates of 100 houses or more) to plonk 607 houses behind and around the Temple Carrig School in Blacklion, a group of local residents have had enough.

Turns out, officially, we all have. When it comes to large housing estates, Delgany and Greystones already have more than enough. Under the Local Area Plan, the Delgany development is 70% over the permitted number of new houses whilst we currently have enough new housing units to fulfill our 2031 growth target. And still the SHDs just keep on coming, developers keen to get their planning before the plug is pulled on this housing gold rush.

And so it is that 12 angry men and women have formed DelganyJR, the latter two letters standing for Judicial Review. It’s the only line of defense left open to Joe and Joanna Sixpack when it comes to SHDs such as the Carmelite development in Delgany, and it’s expensive. We’re talking €36,000 expensive.

Not that Colin Acton, Seán and Jacqui Goff, Evelyn Cawley, Gemma and Declan Morris, Mike and Ciara Mann, Zoe and David Woodward, Gareth Madden, Aileen Lennon, Keith Scanlon, Carina Harte, Ed French and Alice O’Donnell have rushed into this blindly.

It would appear that the stupidity of this 2016 license to bulldoze is being exposed again and again, with 85% of Judicial Reviews of these planning applications around the country proving successful. And when those fighting the good fight win their case, they are generally able to recoup 80% of their legal fees.

With Cairn Homes merrily ploughing their way across Farrankelly, Charlesland and beyond, there’s clearly much work to be done when it comes to our buckled infrastructure. In the meantime, calling a pause on any more major housing would be a major step in the right direction.

It’s something that Alice O’Donnell clearly feels strongly about when we caught up with her outside the old Carmelite convent…

Update: Fundraising target reached within 3 weeks – Boom! Futher details about DelganyJR on Facebook here or email [email protected].